53 Side Hustles Any Pharmacist Can Start Today

by | Apr 24, 2017 | Side Hustle

No matter what stage of life you are in, you should have some financial goals. As a pharmacist, you make a large sum of money—and you shouldn’t waste it.

You may have heard the saying, “With great wealth comes great responsibility.” So true. However, I also believe that great joy can also come with great wealth.

With this wealth, we can do so much good. Some pharmacists want to make even more money so they can do even more great things.

For those of you who want to build some serious wealth, a side hustle is a great way to get started. To get you motivated, I wanted to share some ideas that you can pursue outside of your day job to bring in extra cash.

I’ll be honest: Some of these ideas won’t make you too much money, but others have the potential to grow into a job that could eventually replace your full-time income. So, in addition to providing the positives of each idea, I’ll also share the potential pitfalls with you. Remember, not every side hustle is right for everyone.

I recommend you bookmark this page so you can come back to it later.

Here are my 53 ideas to help you start your side hustle today:

1. Public speaking

As a pharmacist, you have a unique position that allows you to speak and provide education to other people. Whenever I want to make some extra cash, I reach out to my network of doctors, pharmacists, nurse practitioners and physician assistants to see if anyone wants to learn more about anticoagulation, which is my specialty area. Just by giving updates to other medical providers, I can make an easy $400 to $800 for one speaking engagement.

My friend Donald Kelly of thesalesevangelist.com is a phenomenal speaker who travels across the country to speak to all sorts of audiences. He gets paid thousands of dollars to speak, on top of being reimbursed for travel expenses. Speaking is something that has no upper earning limit. People such as Bill Clinton and Mark Cuban are paid literally tens of thousands of dollars to speak in front of audiences for just a few minutes. Now, I’m not saying that you can get to that point easily, if ever, but you can head in that direction.

You don’t have to talk about healthcare topics, either. You can speak about anything. I was once paid to talk about creating mastermind groups. You can also be paid to speak online.

Pros: The beauty of speaking is that after you create the content, you can deliver it over and over again to different audiences.

Cons: Public speaking is feared by some and avoided by many, so you will have to get over any fears you may have before standing in front of an audience. Also, some pharmacy organizations have the attitude that because you are helping the profession, you shouldn’t be paid (which I think this is BS – you should be paid for your knowledge and expertise!).

Action Step: If you are afraid of public speaking, the best way to face your fears is to join your local Toastmasters group. Then, reach out to your network and see if anyone wants to learn more about your specialty area (pharmacy-related or not) and start creating content.

2. Teaching courses

If you’ve ever felt like you have the heart of a teacher but didn’t pursue it because you didn’t think you met the qualifications for an academic position, it is possible to teach on your own terms. If you have expertise in anything or have accomplished something special, you are qualified to teach.

You can make tons of money teaching courses online. To illustrate my point, go on Udemy and pick a random course that costs $20. Most of these courses have thousands of students—do the math.

Pros: You don’t need a resident certification to be qualified to teach something online. You don’t need more publications, more credentials or more education to teach. Col. Sanders didn’t go back to school to get an MBA to launch Kentucky Fried Chicken, after all.

Cons: Creating and marketing a course takes time, and you may need to pay for a service or website to help you get started.

Action Step: Picking something you are good at and create a course using a service like Teachable. Then, sell your course on websites such as Udemy and profit insanely from what you already know.

3. Video editing

Video editing is a fun skill for the meticulous person. Let’s face it: Pharmacists are typically Type A, perfectionists who are highly detail-oriented. When you edit video, you are putting together the pieces of a very complicated puzzle and every second counts. Think about all the editing that is required for every 15 second commercial that you see on TV. Those editors are paid thousands for each commercial.

Pros: In my opinion, pharmacists are built for the details and video editing is that kind of job. If you have a nice camera and a lapel mic, you can do just about anything for any local business.

Cons: You spend a lot of hours looking at the computer, and it can be hard to estimate how long each editing job will take you.

Action Step: The best way to get started in a business like this is to do it for free. You could easily get started by editing video together for small companies in your local area. After you have a few testimonials under your belt, you can go out there and start charging.

4. Photography

If you have a knack for creativity and design or have ever thought, “Boy, I really love taking photos,” this is a great and easy side-hustle for any pharmacist. I did a photo shoot a few months ago and I was talking with my photographer about herself and her business. I found out that she was actually a nurse in a past life. She found that she enjoyed being a nurse, but she loved the creative nature of being a photographer more. She was able to hustle on the side doing photoshoots for weddings and graduations and built it up to a full-time business.

Pros: You can schedule appointment-only shoots for graduation, baby or engagement photos around your full-time job. Although investment costs are high, you can make your money back quickly.

Cons: Weddings could be hard to do depending on the kind of pharmacy shift you have. The investment costs for photography also can be prohibitive—a really nice camera costs $500-$600.

Action Step: Start taking photographs for free or at a deeply discounted rate and build a portfolio that you can show to prospective clients.

5. YouTube

Could you imagine getting $36,000 per week? I couldn’t. However, one young YouTuber, Ryan’s ToysReview, makes exactly that and he’s five years old. The model is simple: Create content, promote ads, get views and make money. The majority of YouTube channels that are out there create a partnership with YouTube to allow ads to be placed on their videos. In exchange, they receive a portion of the profits.

The way to get to hundreds of thousands of views is by niching down and creating content consistently. One of my favorite channels is The Nerdwriter, who is a blogger who writes about nerdy things—from tropical house beats of Rhianna to Lord of the Rings battle philosophy. He not only uses ads from YouTube, but he uses a platform called Patreon where people pay him a monthly subscription to support him to create more content. When I last checked, he was making more than $4,000 per month to produce his content.

Pros: If there is a subject that you love to talk about, it should be fun and easy for you to create content that is funny, interesting and engaging.

Cons: You have to be very focused in a niche. You have to choose something that you love talking about and talk about it until you are exhausted. And, you have to get an insane amount of views in order to make money from YouTube. Working as a YouTube blogger has a bad connotation that might lead others to believe you don’t work at all or are some sort of weirdo. Just ask PewDiePie, one of the most popular YouTubers, who is known as kind of a weirdo online and probably works harder than you do.

Action Step: Pick something that you have loved for 10-15 years, whether it is woodworking, playing guitar or a certain type of fiction genre, and run with it.

6. Writing

I am very partial to writing as a side hustle because it is how I got started. Essentially, I created content that I turned around and sold to websites. It’s something I still do, and I love getting paid to write content. If you feel like you are a writer and always have been, this is an amazing way to make some extra money—you get to do what you love and get paid to do it. This daily hustle eventually led to me paying off my house 27 years early, and there is no shortage of people online who promote the writing side-hustle.

Pros: Everyone has an hour at the beginning of their day to wake up earlier and write. There also are hundreds of courses you can take to teach you how to write great content and headlines and make more effective pitches.

Cons: It takes practice, diligence and constant work to improve your craft and it can be frustrating and difficult to get started. You will be rejected a lot. Here’s how things will be until you get your first paying gig:

  1. Write.
  2. Pitch your article to websites that will pay.
  3. Fail.
  4. Pitch again.
  5. Fail.
  6. Pitch again.
  7. Repeat.

Action Step: Pick a subject area that you like and know a bit about. Then, write some content. Don’t give up after the first “no.” Keep trying and keep pushing. Remember, even J.K. Rowling was rejected several times before Harry Potter was accepted.

7. Medical writing

Although this may sound similar to writing, I made this its own category. As a pharmacist, you are a highly trained professional. Medical writing involves talking specifically about any topic related to medicine, not just any subject at all, as in general writing. When you do medical writing, you come from a place of expertise and knowledge and should be paid accordingly for your work.

Pros: Every health care system needs content to educate their consumers, so there are many high-paying jobs available for qualified medical writers with advanced degrees.

Cons: The subject matter usually isn’t the most exciting thing in the world, and you might get tired of writing about medical topics after working at the pharmacy all day.

Action Step: Create a profile on upwork.com and start bidding on medical writer jobs.

8. Transcription

Just about anyone can learn to be a transcriptionist, but because of your advanced pharmacy knowledge, I recommend that you specialize in medical transcription.

Pros: The work doesn’t take much thought and is easy to do. All you really need is a set of headphones, a laptop and the ability to type quickly.

Cons: The work can be mindless and a bit boring, depending on the subject matter. It also doesn’t pay very much, even for medical specialists. As a pharmacist, I think there are easier ways for you to get started hustling at a higher price point.

Action Steps: Reach out to your network to see if any medical providers could use your help. Or, contract with a medical transcription service who will provide you with assignments.

9. Voice acting

For the creative and theatrical pharmacist, voice acting is a great way to get paid to speak. I started voice acting three years ago and found that it was fun to do. It fed my urges to act, and my first job was using my ATR2100 microphone to record myself talking about a Chinese conference.

Pros: I got paid $10 for two minutes of talking. You may scoff at the idea of getting only $10—but that’s $300 per hour, and it even led to more gigs.

Cons: This side hustle will not work for you unless you have a good voice.

Action Steps: Buy a microphone and start looking for gigs on upwork.com.

10. Kindlepreneur

A good friend of mine named Dave Chesson coined the term “Kindlepreneur.” He created a website around the idea that people can make money by writing books and selling them on Amazon. I created a few books, Hang Out and Grow Rich and Master the PCAT Essay Book (this was taken down), and I receive around $100 per month because of it.

Pros: If you have a big dream to publish a book, you could place it on Amazon and get paid for it.

Cons: It’s not that easy. A rule that I learned early on is that 20 percent of the battle is creating the content, 80 percent is marketing. After you create a book, if you don’t have a following no one will ever hear about it or find it. You have a lot of upfront work to do if you take this path.

Action Steps: Start writing while simultaneously building a following of people who might be interested in your book.

11. Consulting

Consulting is a great side hustle option for those who are experts and have accomplished a great deal in their career or in life. Anytime you have expertise and knowledge, you can be paid as a consultant to teach others what you know.

Pros: Consulting is a great side gig because it is typically not something that requires full-time attention; usually, it is something that can be done on this side in the mornings or one day a month. Consulting isn’t just limited to business pursuits; you can also offer consulting services in other areas, such as fitness or home organization.

Cons: If you don’t have any expertise or if you are new to a field, you will have a hard time selling your expertise to other businesses. It can also take a while to get your first customer.

Action Step: Because getting your first customer can be tough, you may have to provide your service for free to someone. After you get a great testimonial, you can approach other businesses to ask if they would be interested.

12. Coaching

Have you ever thought that our education system is broken? Me too. One of the reasons why I think it is broken is because we teach kids the answers, rather than how to find the answers. Coaching empowers people to make decisions for themselves rather than just be handed answers. Coaching helps people overcome the obstacles in their path.

If there is something significant that you have accomplished in your life, congratulations! You are qualified to be a coach. Coaches typically hold weekly meetings with their clients via phone or video conference and may provide email support. Most coaches charge about $500 per month, although some can charge $1,800 per month or more.

An important point I want to make here is that a coach is not a consultant. A consultant shows you the map and says, “Go that way.” A coach holds up a mirror and says to the client, “Is this who you want to become? If not, how can we get you there?”

Pros: You can become a coach for just about anything, including parenting, career, health or organizational skills. All you need is some personal expertise, a website and a willingness to help others—no need to get a coaching certification or additional degrees.

Cons: Like any other service-oriented business, it takes time to build up a good reputation.

Action Steps: To get your coaching business off the ground, offer your services to one person for free. If you have a friend or acquaintance who wants to run a 5K, organize their home or get a promotion, ask if you can help them achieve that goal. After you provide above-and-beyond value and service, be sure to get a testimonial that you can show to your future clients.

13. Building websites

Building websites is a skill that easily can be learned. If you’re a pharmacist or a pharmacy technician, you have the technical skills necessary to learn how to build a simple website—and companies will pay anywhere from $10,000 to $40,000 for web design services. However, you could start off small and only charge a few hundred dollars for a simple website for a small business in your local area. Website development is really not that difficult, especially if you are good with technology. Simple websites with five pages can put a few hundred bucks in your pocket.

Pros: By watching a few tutorials on YouTube and learning a bit about hosting and WordPress, you could have a website up within a few hours. Plus, you can work from home whenever it is convenient for you.

Cons: This is not a good choice if you struggle with technology. Also, you may have to spend some time learning the process before you get your first client.

Action Step: Take a cheap or free course to help you get started with web development.

14. Manage social media

If every business has a website, then every business likely also has a social media presence. Whether the business uses Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn or Twitter, the business will usually have someone who manages their social media by posting, Tweeting, communicating with customers and creating content for blogs and contests online.

Pros: You can turn your expertise in something that you probably do anyway in your personal time into extra cash. Many of these gigs are posted on Fiverr and Upwork, so it is easy to find jobs online.

Cons: Although blogging is a popular form of social media, I don’t usually recommend it as a first route for starting your side hustle. Here’s why: Because blogging highlights passive income, it takes a long time to build your following and make money—making it very easy to give up on before your first earnings arrive.

Action Step: Create your profile on Upwork and Fiverr and begin bidding on social media management jobs. Or, reach out to your network to find out if anyone you know needs help promoting their business on social media.

15. Sell on Amazon or eBay.

Selling stuff is one of the easiest things that you can do as a side hustler. It is a no-brainer to go to garage sales in your local area and buy lightly used items to sell for a higher price on EBay, Craigslist or Amazon.

Baby items, such as seats and strollers, are a great place to get started—parents are always looking to get rid of the items, so they are usually willing to part with them for a few bucks and people who need them are happy to get any kind of discount off the retail price, even if the item is lightly used. Books (either your own or ones that you find at garage sales) are another great place to get started with selling online.

Pros: This method gives you a quick return on your money and works especially well if you live in a metropolitan area. As your online sales business grows, you can even train other people to find specific items for you at garage sales and pay them for helping you out.

Cons: This is hard to pull off if you’re in a rural area. Also, you have to have the patience and time to hunt for the items.

Action Step: Set up accounts on Amazon, Craigslist and EBay and head out to garage sales in your area this weekend.

16. App development

If you like working with technology, there is a lot of money to be made in app development—and, you get paid whether the app is a success or not. You could dream up a useful tool to sell online and get paid over and over again or develop something that you sell to a local business.

Pros: There is lots of money to be made if you have the skills. There are also a number of training courses available online.

Cons: If you don’t already have the skills, it may take some time and money to get up to speed.

Action Step: Check out an online course to learn about app development.

17. Cooking or baking

If you love to cook or bake, you could sell delicious meals or home-baked goodies to individuals and organizations. I can guarantee that there are busy parents in your community who would pay for a night off from cooking or businesses that would pay for treats that are delivered to their worksite.

Pros: If you already have the skills and the recipes, it would be very easy to get started. You could also do the food preparation on weekends and evenings.

Cons: It might be hard to land your first client. And, you may not have enough space in your home kitchen to handle high-volume food preparation.

Action Step: Offer to provide a free meal or dessert to a business or family in your area.

18. Running errands

If you have a couple hours to spare on a weeknight or a Saturday, you could help busy people run errands. Many people in your area would probably pay for someone to grocery shop for them or pick up dry cleaning on a weekly basis.

Pros: If you enjoy being out and about, this is a good task for you. Also, you might be able to accomplish some of your own errands at the same time.

Cons: This service would be a luxury for most people, so you would have to make sure you are marketing to people who would actually pay.

Action Step: Start advertising your services in your community where busy people with disposable income would be looking.

19. Accounting services

Pharmacists with an accounting background—or pharmacists who are good at math—could help small businesses in their area with bookkeeping tasks. If you are working for a small business or an online company, you may be able to work remotely at night or during the weekends.

Pros: Providing accounting services could be a great way to broaden your horizons and brush up on your math.

Cons: You should avoid preparing taxes or doing other complex accounting tasks unless you have the appropriate qualifications.

Action Step: Familiarize yourself with Excel and dust off your calculator. Then, start to look for want ads online.

20. Mobile car wash/detailing

Dirty, grimy cars are everywhere—including in your very own neighborhood. You could help busy people save time by providing a mobile car wash/detailing service.

Pros: This business would have low startup costs. Plus, you could market to large groups of clients in neighborhoods, at malls, schools or sporting events.

Action Step: Make up some flyers and post them anywhere that cars like to gather.

21. Computer tutoring

If you made it through pharmacy school, you have basic computer literacy skills that you could teach others. If you are an expert in any software of hardware specific to the pharmacy industry, you could provide training to other area pharmacists. Or, you could offer general tutoring services to the public.

Pros: Believe it or not, there is a large segment of our population that needs help figuring out how to operate a tablet, install a printer or use Gmail. You also may be able to create courses or provide video tutorial sessions.

Cons: Many clients would probably want to meet with you face-to-face—videoconferencing would probably be tough for someone who can’t set up their computer.

Action Step: Reach out to your network and see if anyone needs help learning new pharmacy software or hardware. Or, start advertising your services around town.

22. Cover letter and resume assistance

Put your pharmacy experience to use by helping your colleagues or new graduates prepare resumes and cover letters. Your feedback could help someone to land their dream job—how cool is that?

Pros: Because the payoff for landing a new job is so high, you would likely have many pharmacists who would seek your assistance. And, although there are many general resume services available out there, you could tailor yours specifically to pharmacy careers.

Cons: It will take some time to build your business, as you will probably gain a large number of clients through word-of-mouth. Also, it can be tough to offer constructive criticism on a resume and cover letter without knowing much about the applicant’s job history, personality and experience.

Action Step: Offer to help a friend revise his or her resume for free in exchange for a recommendation to other pharmacists.

23. Online customer service

Many companies now employ customer service representatives who work from home and handle incoming chat or phone requests.

Pros: You can work from home and set your own hours. Also, the work doesn’t require much thought.

Cons: This line of work typically doesn’t pay very much and you may occasionally have to deal with angry or difficult customers.

Action Step: Check out online job boards to see what companies are hiring and how much they pay.

24. Pet care

If you like animals, you could start a business providing pet sitting or dog walking services. Almost every pet owner uses this service at least once in a while, even if it is just when they go on vacation.

Pros: People love their pets, so they are usually willing to pay for someone trustworthy to keep an eye on them.

Cons: Some pets are friendly and some pets are not. Also, you will probably have to scoop poop at some point.

Action Step: Ask friends, neighbors and co-workers if they could benefit from your pet sitting services.

25. DJ-ing

If you’re up to speed on the latest tunes or know how to work some turntables, you could consider DJ-ing for weddings and special events—or even at your local bar or club. You don’t have to invest in crazy amounts of equipment right away, either. You could start by attaching your iPod to a set of high-quality speakers.

Pros: If you have an outgoing personality, this could be a fun and creative way to make a few extra bucks.

Cons: DJ-ing is on the decline thanks to the availability of music online. And, startup costs can be prohibitive if you go the turntables route.

Action Step: Build a playlist that includes classics and current hits while simultaneously looking for individuals and establishments that could use your services.

26. Graphic design

Graphic design services are always in demand if you have the software skills and eye for design. Whether your local entrepreneur needs new business cards or a company from halfway across the world needs a new logo, you can make some serious cash.

Pros: Graphic design allows you to express your creativity.

Cons: Good design is not as simple as it looks, so you may have to take classes to learn more about design principles before you get started. You may have to invest in graphic design software, too.

Action Step: Check out 99designs, Crowdspring or DesignCrowd and begin bidding on projects.

27. House sitting

Keeping an eye on someone else’s house while they are away has to be one of the easiest things to do to make extra money. Most people are OK with you continuing to work at your full-time job while house sitting, and many only need you to stop by once or twice a day to pick up mail, turn on some lights, check for packages and make sure nothing is amiss.

Pros: This is about the easiest work you can possibly do.

Cons: Overnight house-sitting stays can cause problems if you have a family or work an odd shift. Also, if something goes wrong while you are there, you will probably have to help the owners deal with it.

Action Step: Advertise your services through friends, family and co-workers who can vouch for your trustworthiness.

28. Interior decorating

If you work in a pharmacy and are addicted to HGTV, you probably know all about how to make spaces functional and attractive. You could provide interior design services to businesses or individuals in your area.

One pharmacist and AirBnb frequent customer reached out to me about a side hustle idea. After a consultation, she realized she loves interior design and would love to help AirBnb users better design their interiors. A few months later she ended up giving consultations and making a few hundred dollars.

Pros: Interior decorating could be a fun job if you like to shop, enjoy being creative and have some knowledge of design concepts. There are also nearly no start-up costs involved.

Cons: You may have to meet with clients during business hours, which could be tough if you work day shift.

Action Step: Read a few books on design concepts and check out some interior design galleries online (there are plenty for commercial and residential spaces). If you can’t find any clients right away, you could offer to style a friend or relative’s space for free.

29. Modeling

Are you easy on the eyes? If so, you could make some extra cash by modeling. Sometimes, local photographers are in need of subjects to strike a pose for advertisements.

Pros: What could be easier than sitting there looking good?

Cons: It might be hard to connect with the right people to help you land jobs. This also works much better if you live in an urban area.

Action Step: Get some professional photographs taken of yourself and reach out to local photographers and advertising firms to see if they need any volunteers.

30. Moving service

Strong pharmacists who don’t mind carrying other people’s stuff can make good money helping other people move. You can offer your services at night and on weekends and wouldn’t even need to own a truck—you could just help people carry things.

Pros: This is great exercise and will help keep you in great shape. Bonus points if you live in a college town.

Cons: You would not want to attempt this if you have back problems or any physical limitations. Also, this is not the most glamorous, high-paying work.

Action Step: Start advertising your services locally by contacting real estate agents and/or landlords who would be inclined to pass along your information to their clients.

31. Event planning

If you love to plan and organize, put your skills to good use by offering party or event planning services. Most events are scheduled on weekends or evenings, and you would probably only have to make a handful of phone calls during business hours. You could specialize in large events, such as weddings or corporate gatherings, or smaller events, such as bridal/baby showers or birthday parties.

Pros: People will pay good money for someone to take on the stress of planning their special event.

Cons: Depending on the shift you work, weekend or evening events could be a problem.

Action Step: Start by offering your services for free to a friend or relative who is planning an event and get a great testimonial.

32. Personal training

If fitness is your passion, you could provide either online or in-person personal training services to clients. If you go the in-person route, you could easily fit it into your schedule because most people work out in the early morning or after work. Online personal training can be done anytime.

Pros: This is a great way to turn what you already know about fitness into some extra cash. No need to obtain a pricey certification, either.

Cons: It will take you some time to find clients and build a reputation.

Action Step: Start by helping a friend or co-worker achieve some fitness goals and check out online personal training offerings to get an idea about costs, etc.

33. Podcasting

If you have a subject that you are passionate about and a unique angle, podcasting can be a great creative outlet for you. And, if you are able to attract a large following, it can translate into some serious sponsorship dollars.

Pros: Podcasting can be done on your timeframe and with very little upfront investment.

Cons: It takes a lot of time and a really unique angle to create the following you need to earn serious money.

Action Step: Check out some articles online about how to build a successful podcast and buy a high-quality microphone.

34. Proofreading

For pharmacists who love to read, proofreading is an awesome way to make extra money. Whether you focus on fiction or medical content, you can easily set up shop on Upwork.

Pros: Proofreading can be done remotely and requires almost no investment costs.

Cons: Depending on the type of jobs you are looking for, you may need to have some knowledge of AP or AMA style. Also, you will spend a ton of time reading on the computer.

Action Step: Create an Upwork profile and decide which area you would like to focus on (novels, medical content, etc.).

35. Sports officiating

Recreational sports leagues are always in need of referees and umpires. If you enjoy sports and have some knowledge of the game, you can earn some extra cash officiating in the evenings and on weekends.

Pros: Depending on the sport, you can get some good exercise while officiating.

Cons: Angry fans and difficult coaches can make the job significantly less fun. You may also have to go through a certification process and/or get child abuse clearances if you are working with children.

Action Step: Reach out to local recreational leagues and see what steps you would need to take to get started.

36. Selling hand-crafted items

Are you crafty? Do you enjoy making unique items? If so, you could set up shop on Etsy and sell your unique handmade items worldwide.

Pros: If you are naturally crafty, this is a great creative outlet.

Cons: There aren’t many cons here. You may find that your business takes off faster than you thought, causing you to be overwhelmed with orders. But, there are lots of options for hiring help, if necessary.

Action Step: Figure out what you can make that could be sold and see what other similar products are out there to help you establish your prices.

37. Selling on Fiverr

Fiverr is a great way to sell your side-hustle services, whether you decide to take up graphic design, web design, writing, editing or virtually anything else. There are lots of articles out there on how to start your side hustle using Fiverr.

Pros: Fiverr is easy to set up and can get you the exposure you need to make your side hustle profitable.

Cons: The risk of underselling yourself is high, as many people offer their services very cheaply.

Action Step: Figure out what you could sell and set up a profile on Fiverr.

38. Marketing services

Many small businesses don’t have the staff or expertise to do all their own marketing. If you have expertise in this area, you could offer your services locally or online and help businesses make a plan to put their best foot forward.

Pros: Many small businesses will pay good money for this service because it is way cheaper than hiring a staff member.

Cons: In order to be successful, you will have to demonstrate marketing expertise. It will also take time to find clients.

Action Steps: Create a profile on Upwork or Fiverr, or reach out to local small businesses that could benefit from your services.

39. Fitness instructor

Whether you enjoy aerobics, yoga or cardio kickboxing, becoming a part-time fitness instructor is a healthy way to earn some extra cash.

Pros: You can get fit while earning extra money. And, most classes are held in the early mornings, weekends or evenings, so you could surely find something to fit your schedule.

Cons: You may have to obtain certification to teach on your own dime (although some gyms may offer to pay for all or part of your certification).

Action Step: Reach out to local health clubs to see what their instructor needs are and research the costs associated with obtaining the necessary certification.

40. Translation/interpretation

If you know a second (or third!) language, you could create a killer side hustle providing translation or interpretation services. Translating documents would be a great way to work remotely on your own schedule.

Pros: This would have super low start-up costs and would not require any additional knowledge or training. There are tons of jobs available on Upwork.

Cons: Although translation would be easy to do, providing real-time interpretation services would probably be difficult around your full-time work schedule.

Action Step: Build a profile on Upwork and start bidding on translation jobs.

41. Tutoring

Put that Pharm.D degree to use by offering tutoring to pharmacy students. Thanks to videoconferencing, you don’t even have to live in a college town to make this work. You could also tailor your tutoring services to your pharmacy specialty area.

Pros: You are using knowledge you already have to make extra money, and you could provide services on evenings or weekends.

Cons: It might be tough to get broke pharmacy students to pay you a decent rate for your services.

Action Step: Advertise where pharmacy students congregate, either online or at a local pharmacy school.

42. Vehicle advertising

If you drive a lot, you could earn up to $500 per month by putting advertising “wrap” on your car. Talk about passive income!

Pros: You have to do next to nothing to earn extra money each month.

Cons: If you live in a rural area or don’t drive very much, you probably wouldn’t find too many companies that are interested in advertising on your vehicle.

Action Step: Visit Wrapify and see how you can get started.

43. Vending machines

Vending machines are a great way to make passive income. And, depending on the extent of your vending empire, you could potentially hire someone to fill the machines and handle any problems that may come up.

Pros: This is a great way to generate passive income and requires little work each month. Vending machines are also pretty cheap to buy.

Cons: This can be a difficult business to get started, mostly because you have to find a place to put your machines.

Action Step: Check the classified ads in your area to see if anyone is selling a vending machine business or cheap vending machines.

44. Virtual assistant

Virtual assistants (VAs) provide administrative support to clients from home. Depending on the amount of flexibility you have and the hours you are available to work, you can choose to set up shop on your own or sign up with established VA companies such as Belay or Fancy Hands.

Pros: For the most part, VA work is easy to do and easy to find—and it can be done at home.

Cons: Because it work is so easy, it really doesn’t pay that well.

Action Step: Create an Upwork profile or sign up with an established VA company.

45. Lawn mowing service

If you enjoy working outdoors, cutting lawns in your neighborhood is a great way to make some extra money—especially if you own a riding mower. You could start small by offering to cut lawns while people are on vacation, or look for more regular work on a weekly basis.

Pros: This is easy work and there are plenty of potential customers out there.

Cons: It is not glamorous work and doesn’t pay that well.

Action Step: Create a simple flyer and distribute it to your neighbors advertising your services.

46. Snow removal service

If you live in an area of the country that is prone to lots of snow, consider starting a snow removal company on the side. If you already own a snow blower, there are probably quite a few people in your neighborhood who would gladly pay for some help digging out after a big storm.

Pros: If you already have a snow blower and use it for your own property, the start-up costs are next to none.

Cons: This will not work if you live in a warmer climate. Also, even if you live in a colder climate, the income can be inconsistent. No snow means no work. This is also very physically demanding work and will require you to be out in the cold.

Action Step: Just as you would with a lawn mowing service, create a simple flyer and distribute it to you neighbors advertising your services.

47. Child care

Parents have a hard time finding quality, reliable babysitters—and when they find one, they are usually willing to pay. Why not fill that need in your community by providing child care help to families on evening and weekends?

Pros: All it takes is a connection with one nice family, and through the beauty of word-of-mouth, you will have a booming business in no time. Also, there are no start-up costs for this.

Cons: If you know nothing about or don’t like kids, this is not a good choice for you. Also, you will have to deal with messes, snotty noses, diapers and general stickiness if you are going to be in contact with little ones.

Action Step: Find one family (preferably with civilized children) and offer to provide your service for free in exchange for a recommendation to other families.

48. Music lessons

If you are a musical pharmacist, offer to provide music lessons to youngsters in your area. Whether you sing or play another instrument, parents will be more than willing to sign their kids up for affordable, low-pressure music lessons.

Pros: Lessons will usually be held on evenings or weekends (outside school hours) and are usually only 30 minutes long for little kids. At $15 for a 30-minute lesson, you could make more than $100 in a couple hours.

Cons: You would either need to travel to students’ homes or have a space in your home where you could provide lessons. Also, you may need access to a piano or other instrument—and, of course, some musical experience.

Action Step: Ask local parents if they might be interested in music lessons for their kids and offer a free trial lesson.

49. Refreshment sales

Selling refreshments at youth sporting events, yard sales or other community gatherings is a great way to earn some extra money. You don’t have to buy a food truck right away, either. Filling a couple coolers with bottled water and soda and selling bagged snacks can be enough to get you started.

Pros: Start up is easy and it doesn’t take much effort to make a profit.

Cons: You would probably need to get advance permission to set up shop.

Action Step: Visit your local bulk-buy superstore and stock up on soda, water and bagged snacks. Then, brainstorm a list of places in the community where your customers congregate and get permission from the property owners.

50. Selling fresh produce

Do you enjoy gardening and have the space to do it? If so, you could set up a mini “farmers market” selling produce that you grow yourself. Tomatoes, fresh flowers, cucumbers, herbs, onions and potatoes are popular sellers that are easy to grow.

Pros: Selling your extra produce will keep it from going to waste.

Cons: Cultivating a garden takes lots of time and space.

Action Step: Plant a couple extra things this year and see if you can harvest enough to sell to other people.

51. Review products

Companies like Vindale Research will pay you to take surveys and review products online.

Pros: This is easy and can be done at your convenience.

Cons: The online survey world is rife with scams, so be careful to thoroughly check out the company—and don’t pay any money upfront. Also, you could probably make much more money with another type of side hustle.

Action Step: Sign up with a couple survey companies and start answering questions.

52. Selling stock photography

New blogs and websites are born all the time, and they all need stock images. Taking pictures of simple items and uploading them on stock photography websites such as ShutterStock is an easy way to make money over and over again.

Pros: You don’t need to be a professional photographer—all you really need is the ability to take quality photos.

Cons: Most sites pay between 25 cents and $3 each time one of your images is downloaded, so you won’t build wealth very quickly this way.

Action Step: Start coming up with ideas for stock photos, take some pictures and upload them to the site of your choice.

53. Real estate

Investing in real estate can be a huge money-maker. You could choose to purchase and rent commercial/industrial or residential real estate or buy bargain properties and flip them for a profit.

A pharmacist actually shares her story on how she fell into real estate and renting on The Happy PharmD. Check it out by clicking this.

Pros: The returns on investment can be huge with real estate.

Cons: Real estate can be risky and requires a large amount of start-up capital. Also, being a landlord can be difficult, particularly with residential properties. Flipping, though lucrative, can take quite a bit of work and know-how.

Action Step: Get your investment funds ready and start working with a real estate agent to find properties in your price range.

BONUS: Franchise

Starting a franchise is no small feat. Be forewarned: you’re essentially creating another job, unless you have someone to be the manager of the business. I share my failure story here about the franchise I was a part of.

As you have probably noticed, there are side hustle options that fit every budget, every area of expertise and every schedule. All you really need to get started is a little motivation. If you are serious about building your side hustle, I’d be happy to help. Feel free to book a call with me.

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Creating Happy Pharmacists

If you really want to build the career and life that you’ve dreamed of, one where you are helping people and working in the field that you love, you need to do something different than what you’ve been doing.

Re-discover why you became a pharmacist and find your passion again.